Because you were born to
by Yuanjia
Summary: Pre-war. A young Legolas is sent to Lothlórien to train with other young recruits from Rivendell and Lothlórien. But training the young prince might involve more of a challenge than anticipated. Warning: Contains corporal punishment.


Haldir sighed softly.

He looked towards the young cadets with a mixture of contempt and hopelessness at the same time. Then he turned to Legolas and inspected the wound on his arm where the arrow was still protruding. Thankfully it missed the bone and it did not seemed too bad. But it was still bleeding and it was going to hurt a lot when the healers remove the arrow shaft.

"You were told to stay in the trees for a reason!" Haldir scolded, frustration nearly getting the better of him. "You could have been killed!"

The slight smirk that was evident on Legolas's face faded a bit, only to be replaced by the challenging glare Haldir was so familiar with by now.

Haldir took a deep breath to get his emotions under control before he send Legolas off to the healers and instructed the other cadetts to attend a gathering with himself and Celeborn at sunset.

With that Haldir turned and quickly disappeared into the forest. His young charges were going to be sent on their first border patrol in two weeks time. Haldir worried for them. Never had he struggled so much to get a group of trainees to follow his command. Any authority he had with them after four weeks of border training was hanging by an almost invisible thread.

****************

Haldir quickly made his way up the steps to Celeborn and Galadriel's talon. One of the guards announced him as he followed into Celeborn's study.

Celeborn looked up from his paperwork. "Please sit down Haldir" he invited.

Haldir took a seat while Celborn studied him intently. 'No luck yet?' he asked.

"No my lord. I fear that drastic measures are to be taken to ensure their very survival." Haldir looked towards Celeborn for guidance. All previous attempts and ideas they had up to now, failed miserably.

"Any one in particular giving you trouble?" Celeborn asked.

Haldir studied his lord for a moment before he answered with a smile playing at his lips. "No more than I expected form a young prince my lord."

Celeborn raised an eyebrow at the statement. No one was told that Legolas was a prince. He was too young for Haldir to have met him before.

But Haldir answered the unasked question smilingly. "The escort."

Celeborn smiled in return. He suspected that Haldir knew something was amiss, but Haldir played along all this time, not treating Legolas any different than he had all the other trainees.

"Tranduil feared this much. He knows his son is too much like him." Celeborn sighed slightly at the thought. "He told me a sure way to reach the young prince, though I would have preferred not to use his own 'weakness' against him Haldir, I fear we are running out of time, and he is not helping the other young ones." Haldir looked questioningly at Celeborn.

Celeborn sat back in his chair, his hands idly resting on his arm rests. "Do you trust me Haldir?" Celeborn asked unexpectedly.

Haldir's nodded his head. "Without any doubt my lord" he answered honestly.

"Then are you willing to attempt extreme intervention this afternoon?"

"Anything to get through to them." Haldir answered hopefully. "Anything."

**********

Celeborn was staring at the young cadets without expression.

"Was anything about Haldir orders unclear?" He asked, the authority in his voice carrying with ease. Haldir recognized the anger and contempt in Celeborn's words. It almost made the young ones winch, and Haldir tensed a bit, despite knowing what route Celborn was on.

"This was the last I want to hear of your inability to follow orders. One more report and you will all fail. The whole lot of you! You will be attending gardens for the rest of your immortal lives." Celeborn saw a few cadets pale visibly at the idea, but Legolas rolled his eyes unimpressed.

"Haldir" he snapped. Haldir straightened his shoulders and turned towards Celeborn, breathing shallowly as the situation suddenly became very real.

"Your failure to get these brats under control is not something that I ever expected form you!

You should know by now how to do this; their lives and the lives of all the elves in the golden wood depend on it." Celeborn let the words hang in the air for a couple of moments before he continued, carefully looking at Haldir's reaction to his words.

Haldir was slightly taken by Celeborn's tone and for a moment he thought that he had really unleashed the lord of the golden woods wrath. But when he looked up he saw in Celeborn eyes none of the anger he heard in his voice.

"I apologize for my failure my lord." Haldir replied almost relieved. The cadetts worried that all their misdeeds of the past couple of weeks were going to be reported to Celeborn himself and they waited uneasily for their doom they felt approaching. Even Legolas felt uncomfortable at the idea that Celeborn would report back to his father, the king of Mirkwood and he shifted nervously.

But then Haldir did something that none of the cadets saw coming. "I am guilty of what you accuse, and I am subject myself to your judgment and correction my lord." The cadetts were shocked, and glanced at each other uneasily. Legolas however, did not even notice their reaction as he stared at Haldir astound. Haldir could have hung him out to dry right there and then but he didn't.

Celeborn looked at Haldir intently, not failing to note the unease and the soon followed relief on his face only moments earlier. And even if this was for all the right reasons, he still did not like what he was about to do.

"Very well." Celeborn said, and indicated to one of the guards that accompanied him to the meeting, to step forward. In his hand he held a long black rattan. Haldir closed his eyes for a moment as he felt his stomach churned again, but without instruction, he turned away form Celeborn and the cadets while he removed his shirt and tunic.

When the guard was behind him, he lifted his arms and locked his fingers behind his head, feeling his stomach fall to the floor once again. It had been years since he was dealt with like this, but he knew that this was maybe the only way to reach his young charges.

The guard looked towards Celeborn, who proceeded to announce the punishment.

"For failing his realm in his appointed task, three dozen lashes."

Haldir closed his eyes at the sentence, it was harsh. And all of this to convince a few wayward stubborn …. Haldir interrupted his chain of thought. He trusted Celeborn. He agreed to this out of desperation, and if this could save just one of the young ones, just one, he would do it again ten fold. He tried to brace himself as he heard the guard behind him move.

Everything went dead quiet, holding the breath before the rattan ripped through the air.

Then the first lash fell across his shoulders. For just a moment there was nothing before a cold grip spread quickly across his back, soon replaced by a fiery burn radiating through him from where the rattan made contact. Haldir could not stop himself from flinching as the pain quickly became evident. The guard was not holding back. Haldir was shaking slightly and all he could hear was the sound of his heart pounding in his own ears.

Celeborn watched Haldir carefully while the next couple of lashes fell, and then turned his attention to the cadets, staring in shock at their commander taking blow after blow. Celeborn saw the resolve wave at the sight before them. Some were staring at the ground, but all of them flinched in sympathy each time a stripe was laid across Haldir's back.

The guard was careful not to break the skin, and with timed precision, laid the stripes evenly spaced from his shoulders to his lower back.

Haldir sucked in his breath audibly as the rattan made contact with his lower back. 'Eight down' he thought grimly as he braced for the next lash.

The cadets were frozen on the spot. Then suddenly, in a surprise to both Haldir and Celeborn, Legolas who was giving Haldir the most problems, broke rank and quickly made his way toward Celeborn.

He knelt on one knee before the high lord and then said in a shaky voice. "My lord, it is because of me that Haldir failed in his task, I am the one to blame, please do with me as you must my lord, but do not punish Haldir further. He does not deserve such a punishment my lord, and neither do my fellow cadets."

Celeborn looked down at the cadette but do not utter a word. Behind them another lash fell.

"I am the instigator and the trouble maker. Please punish me; I deserve it, not them." Legolas begged.

The guard stopped and looked questioningly at lord Celeborn, but Celeborn indicated for him to continue. Again a lash was laid accross Haldir's back.

Haldir let his head drop slightly forward as the pain rolled through him once again.

"My lord please!!" The Legolas shouted, getting up, tears running down his face. The next lash fell, and he winched visibly. "Please my lord, please stop this!!"

Celeborn showed no emotion and asked in a calm voice to the young cadets as yet another lash fell on Haldir's back. "Do you understand consequences young one?"

"I do my lord, please stop hurting him on my account." Legolas pleaded.

Celborn continued, as the twelth lash fell accross Haldir's lower back. "If you fail to follow command, it is not you that pay the price. It will be your fellow soldiers, your commander and your realm that will bear the consequences."

Legolas was sobbing openly now. Celeborn looked at him unflinchingly. The guard had stopped the caning, and looked toward Celeborn for instuction. "Continue" was the command given, and the guard lifted the cane once again. This time the lash fell accross the back of Haldir's legs.

The pain was very sharp on the sensitive part of his legs and a small whimper escape Haldir's lips.

'Do you see him accepting without question what his lord commands?" Celeborn asked as the next lash fell.

"I do" came the tearful reply "please stop it now, let me bare the punishment and let him be my lord, please let him be'" Legolas knelt again on the ground before Celeborn sobbing, hopeless, anger and guilt eating away at his heart as he heard yet another lash fall.

To no surprise to Celeborn, more of the cadetts stepped forward and knelt next to Legolas at his feet. They were obviously feeling the same. Celeborn let two more lashes fell accross Haldir's legs before he motioned for the guard to stop. He could see more than one tear stained face before him. It was obvious that he had reached them. He looked towards Haldir who was still composing himself and thought dimly, 'at what price?'

Haldir finally unlocked his fingers and let his arms drop to his sides. His hearing was returning slowly and he felt slightly dizzy. What began as red stripes had now turned to blue and purple welts that spread across his whole back. He turned towards Celeborn. Their eyes met and Haldir acknowledge his lord with a small bow of his head before he straightened up again, facing the rest of the cadetts, fixing his gaze straight ahead.

Celborn told the kneeling cadetts to get back to their places and then walked over to Haldir. He saw the angry welts accross his shoulders and back and shook his head slightly at the damage. That was going to hurt for a couple of days at least.

"Dismiss them, and see that you get yourself to the healers." he addressed Haldir. He turned to go but stopped himself mid stride. "I expect you at the meeting tonight" and then he left, followed by the guard that administered the punishment.

The cadetts felt sorry for Haldir, but something else boiled to the surface too. Respect and finally understanding dawned on them.

When Celeborn was gone, Haldir let his shoulders drop, and stared at their tear stricken faces for a moment longer. No one met his gaze, and he knew he needed to say nothing to them. Besides, he did not trust his voice at this stage and without anything further he calmly announced 'dismissed', and turned to collect his shirt. But before he could reach it Legolas shot forward and gathered his shirt and tunic, holding it out to him.

"I am truly sorry, my lord, this is all my doing" Haldir smiled at him, and nodded an acknowledgement as he took his shirt and carefully put it on. He kept his tunic in hand. "Please, will you do what you must so I can try and make amends for my errors?" Legolas asked, his head bowed before Haldir, fully expecting Haldir to take a rattan to his own back in revenge.

"And do you think I should deal with the whole group thus?" Haldir asked him softly.

"No, only me my lord." Legolas answered scared. "I am the one who always start everything. They were just following me. They would have never done it on their own, was I not the instigator."

Haldir smiled sadly at the young one before him. "If only you could see in yourself what I see in you." Haldir said so only Legolas could hear. Legolas's head shot up at these words and he looked concerned at Haldir.

"You will lead and all will follow, not because of your status, young prince, but because you were born to." With this Haldir turned and left Legolas stunned.


End file.
